In: Tow Rope Heroes

 

Whitney Brady & Kim Miller – Support Our Hometown Heroes – Lewistown, MT

Helping to show the community’s appreciation for hospital and school employees through different acts of service, such as support signs, delivering food and coffee to school and hospital employees, and community members in need.

 

Bridget Demaline, Town & Country Foods –  

Bridget Demaline and her team supports numerous community causes, including the 3D mammography machine, with employees donating their tips for a month to contribute $500.

 

Dave Grantier – Winnett

Dave is always willing to drop anything to help a neighbor or person traveling through Winnett. He owns and operates B&D Service and has served the community as Fire Warden, with 40 years on the Volunteer Fire Department.

 

Elsie Helm – Jordan

Elsie is a nurse working Garfield County Health Center nursing home. She was instrumental in getting the necessary PPE, acquiring the first vaccines and training the staff. The Health Center has yet to see a Covid19 outbreak among the residents. 

 

LuAnn Knutson – Winnett

It would be easier to describe what LuAnn hasn’t been apart of in the Winnett community. She worked for the Postal Service of 30+ years before retiring for post master position in Winnett. She is very active in the Lion’s organization, decorating the town for Christmas, cleaning highways and the cemeteries in the area, helped install a fence at the pool park, put up Welcome to Winnett signs, and plant flowers at the postal park to name a few things. She has been involved with the Nativity Scene on the main drag in Winnett, and this year she brought in the biggest pine tree to be decorated and enjoyed by the community. She has done numerous things to help renovate and improve community centers and to help organize anything that will bring neighbors together. She was instrumental in helping to fund and build the new multi-million dollar community center. Needless to say, she is vital to the Winnett community, and with her sense of humor, humble personality and giving heart, she is definitely a Tow Rope Hero!

 

Karen Kuhlmann – Central Montana Medical Center Foundation – Lewistown, MT

Karen serves as the Chairman of the Central Montana Medical Center Foundation Advisory Board. With the goal of funding the purchase of a 3D mammography machine for the hospital, Karen and her team are bringing the Oak Ridge Boys to Lewistown in June 2021. Her leadership displays drive and tenacity in the campaign to help better the Lewistown community. She inspires and leads a “culture of giving” to support the hospital, the community

 

Megan McDonald – Jordan

Megan works as an RN at the Garfield County Health Department. She was not actively working until the Covid19 outbreak and stepped up to help the county health nurse with covid testing and vaccinations, contact tracing and training. As a busy mom of 3, its clear to see that her efforts to help the community did not come without some challenges or sacrifice.

 

Brett Nienhuis – Big Fish Boat Works – Lewistown, MT

With over 30 years of Steelhead and Salmon fishing experience and 10 years of guiding, a person has the chance to use and row nearly every brand of boat on the market and find the qualities in drift boats that work and those that don’t. 9 years ago, Brett decided to make some changes and improvements on current boat designs for the convenience of the people using the drift boats for either their profession or leisure. His passion for fishing, and his new-ish business is truly infectious!

 

Dale Pfau, Exec. Director, Fergus County Council on Aging – Lewistown, MT

Seniors were most notably affected by the pandemic virus. Dale and his staff of volunteers worked relentlessly to keep in touch with the area’s 2,500 seniors, serving 60-80 drive up meals a day, serving 3,000-4,000 sack lunches a month, distributing 25 lb commodity boxes from the Food Bank Network, shuttling seniors to appointments, as well as other services. 

 

Kyle Shobe – Lewistown Livestock Auction – Lewistown, MT

Having just purchased Lewistown Livestock Auction in 2020, Kyle Shobe has continued the legacy of hard work LLA that started in 1951. As an experienced auctioneer, he is no stranger to the workings of a livestock sale, but his talents don’t stop there. Kyle also doubles as a rodeo announcer, and has announced rodeo’s throughout MT and WY. He clearly has a passion for agriculture and the people in the community. Thanks for being so invested in the ag industry and the community!

 

Bill Steele – Lewistown, MT

As a natural volunteer, Bill started working with the Lewistown Boys and Girls Club a few years ago by donating a television. From there he just kept showing up to volunteer or sell tickets or whatever he could do to help out. He helps to put on the 30 Days of Beef program, and is always looking for opportunities to help someone out, even if he hasn’t been asked for anything.

 

Montana RanchHERS Beef Co – Lewistown, MT

Mariah Shammel, Abby Majerus, and Jessi Olson joined together over their love for cows and food. Couple this with their passion for helping people better understand where food comes from and voila! Montana RancHERS Beef Co. was calved. In offering their own beef, everyone, regardless of where you live or what you do, will know exactly where your beef is from and best of all, feel good about what you’re eating! Together these ladies have created a great opportunity for education, as well as access to locally sourced beef. 

 

USDA Farm Service Agency 

The past couple of years have been challenging for farmers and ranchers, but the staff and technicians at USDA Farm Service Agency offices have played an extremely important role in helping their neighbors through these difficult times. Joye Saylor (Garfield County), Stephanie Meyer (Valley County), and Sonja Wiseman (Carter/Fallon County) all came out of retirement to help assist producers implement new programs. Nancy Fulton (Cascade County) and David Pitts (State Office) also returned to help assist with USDA Farm Loan programs. From dealing directly with natural disasters to loss of export markets, the local team at USDA Farm Service Agency are true “Tow Rope Heroes”!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *